Since August 10, a factory of AVIA, a subsidiary of AMACCAO Group, in Dong Anh district has been running under the ‘three on-the-site’ mode. But it has shifted to ‘two on-the-site’ after the municipal authorities put Dong Anh district into a yellow zone.

A representative of the company said on September 8 all workers of the factory took PCR tests and the company will take measures to ensure pandemic prevention during travel and production. Local authorities have created favorable conditions for the company’s workers to be vaccinated.

Dong Anh district's Thang Long Industrial Zone has 70,000 workers from other provinces. The district is still listed among the risky areas and some communes in the locality are among those with very high risks.

The number of infections in Dong Anh is the second highest in the city. The district’s authorities plan to apply measures either in accordance with Directive 16 or Directive 15+ in different areas.

On September 5, Dong Anh district issued Dispatch 2798, guiding enterprises and agencies on how to build plans to ensure safe production and operation in the new circumstances.

Enterprises can apply different methods, including ‘three on-the-site’, ‘two on-the-site’, ‘one safe route’ or ‘two safe destinations’. However, ‘two on-the-site’ can only be applied to green or yellow zone residential quarters.

A representative of Hanoi-Me Linh Beer, which has a brewery in Me Linh district, said most workers are locals, so the production has been going as usual. The workers return home, just 2-3 kilometers from the brewery, after working hours.

However, he said, because social distancing is being applied in many cities and provinces, production has been affected at a certain level.

According to Me Linh district People’s Committee, there have been no new Covid-19 cases since August 27. Belonging to Zone 2, Me Linh has been applying Directive 15 and stricter measures to maintain safe production.

Enterprises are allowed to organize production in accordance with ‘three on-the-site’ or ‘one route, two destinations’ modes, depending on their location.

The manager of a tea production company in Soc Son district, also in Zone 2, said the production of the company has continued as usual, and the ‘three on-the-site’ mode is being applied. As many as 100 workers are working and staying in the factory.

Biggest concern

The manager said the ‘three on-the-site’ production has caused production costs to increase. Previously, the company paid workers VND4-5.5 million a month, but now the pay for every worker is roughly VND7 million.

However, he is most worried about slow sales and high capital costs. In 2020, the company put out 500 tons of tea, but the figure may drop to 100 tons this year.

This is also the biggest concern of other businesses. Most enterprises in Hanoi are small and medium sized, and the ‘three on-the-site’ mode is not a big concern for them. What worries them more is the market contraction as a result of social distancing policies in many localities. Also, high lending interest rates have burdened businesses.

The situation of Hanoi’s enterprises can be seen in the People’s Committee’s socio-economic development report in August and the first eight months of the year. The IIP in August fell by 8 percent compared with July, and by 6.7 percent against the same period last year.

The total turnover of goods and consumer services in August is estimated at VND25 trillion, a decrease of 32.2 percent compared with the previous month and 51.2 percent against the same period last year.

Nearly 1,300 new businesses were established in Hanoi in August, down by 46 percent compared with the same period last year, with total registered capital of VND20.6 trillion, down by 33 percent. Meanwhile, 244 businesses were dissolved, down by 1 percent, and 833 businesses reported operation suspension, up by 9 percent.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) reported that the number of enterprises leaving the market in January-August was 85,500, an increase of 24.2 percent over the same period in 2020. Of this, 24,000 enterprises, or 28.1 percent were in HCM City, an increase of 6.6 percent. 

Luong Bang

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